Historic Role of Black Clergy as Public Intellectuals and Community Educators

• In Event: The Black Church Ain’t Dead! A Revival on the Educational Legacy of the Black Church

Abstract

In the antebellum South, many enslaved Blacks could not receive a formal education, but often had to learn in secret. When it was illegal for African Americans to receive schooling, it was often churches that took on the task of educating them (Author5, 2009; Cornelius, 1999; Mitchell, 2010). As such, Black ministers were a kind of educator within the community, historically serving as conduits of knowledge to African Americans. Often, clergy were the most educated individuals in the community (Author5, 2020; Banks, 1988; Span, 2002). Whether it was offering the African American community a formal secular education or religious instruction, Black ministers have historically been a trusted source of intellectual guidance. From Sojourner Truth to Howard Thurmond, Black preachers have stood out front as an educative and prophetic voice for African Americans. Their role as educators became even more prominent after the Civil War, as black leaders had greater access to education. Grounded in Antonio Gramsci’s notion of the organic intellectual and Cornel West’s prophetic pragmatism, the paper analyzes writings and other primary sources of select black clergy in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, examining the extent to which they serve as public intellectuals for the black community (Gramsci, 1971; West, 2002).

Author

• David Jason Childs, Northern Kentucky University